PETCO Park
Encyclopedia
Petco Park is an open-air ballpark
in downtown San Diego, California
, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium
as the home park of Major League Baseball
's San Diego Padres
. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL
's San Diego Chargers
. The stadium is named after the animal and pet supplies retailer Petco
, which is based in San Diego and paid for the naming rights
.
The ballpark is located between 7th and 10th Avenues, south of J Street. The southern side of the stadium is bounded by San Diego Trolley
light rail tracks along the north side of Harbor Drive (which serve the adjacent San Diego Convention Center). The portion of K Street between 7th and 10th is now closed to automobiles and serves as a pedestrian promenade along the back of the left and center field outfield seating (and also provides access to the "Park at the Park" behind center field). Two of the stadium's outfield entrance areas are located at K Street's intersections with 7th and 10th Avenues. The main entrance, behind home plate, is at the south end of Park Boulevard (at Imperial) and faces the San Diego Trolley 12th & Imperial Transit Center
.
The ballpark was constructed by San Diego Ballpark Builders, a partnership with Clark Construction, Nielsen Dillingham and Douglas E. Barnhart, Inc. The construction cost of over $450 million was partially funded by the Center City Development Corporation and the San Diego Redevelopment Agency. The stadium was intended to be part of a comprehensive plan to revitalize San Diego's aging downtown, particularly the East Village area. The stadium is located across Harbor Drive from the San Diego Convention Center
, and its main entrance behind home plate is located two blocks from the downtown terminal of the San Diego Trolley
light rail system.
The ballpark was originally scheduled to open for the 2002 season
; however, construction was temporarily suspended for legal and political reasons. One portion of this was a court decision which nullified a ballot proposition which had already been passed (approving the city's portion of the stadium financing package), and required that the proposition be put to the voters a second time. Another delay resulted from the Western Metal Supply Co. building being declared a historic landmark, which prevented its demolition. After court hearings, it was determined that its landmark status only applies to the exterior facade, as it was supported entirely by panoramic photographs of the early San Diego skyline, and the building was renovated and included in the stadium design in an example of adaptive reuse
.
The resulting delays required the Padres to play the 2002 and 2003
seasons at Qualcomm Stadium.
. The San Diego State Aztecs
baseball team, of which retired Padres player Tony Gwynn
was the head coach
, defeated Houston
. It was the largest attendance for a game in college baseball history.
On April 8, 2004, The San Diego Padres played their first regular season game and defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in 10 innings.
April 15, 2004 Mark Loretta hit the first Padre home run off of Hideo Nomo
of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was caught by Mike Hill, a bartender at the Kansas City Barbecue.
The stadium's first concert came on November 11, 2005, when it hosted The Rolling Stones
.
On March 18 and 20, 2006, the ballpark hosted the semi-finals and finals of the first
World Baseball Classic
. It also hosted second-round games of the 2009 World Baseball Classic
.
On April 4, 2006, Petco Park had its first rainout, postponing an evening game against the San Francisco Giants.
In February 2007, Petco Park became the new host of the USA Sevens
, a rugby union
sevens
event within the IRB Sevens World Series
. Previous editions of the USA Sevens had been held at The Home Depot Center
in the Los Angeles
suburb of Carson
.
On August 4, 2007, Barry Bonds
hit his 755th home run to tie Hank Aaron's record.
On April 17, 2008, the Padres and Rockies played in a 22-inning game, the longest game in Petco Park history. The Rockies won the game by a score of 2–1. It was the longest MLB game in nearly 15 years.
On November 4, 2008, Madonna
performed her Sticky and Sweet Tour at Petco Park. This marked the first time in 23 years that Madonna brought a tour to San Diego since The Virgin Tour
in 1985. 35,743 fans were present.
On July 2, 2009, the MLB experienced its first game to be delayed/halted by a swarm of bees at Petco Park in a game between the Padres and the Houston Astros
. A small swarm of honeybees took up residence around a chair in left field, causing the game to be delayed by fifty-two minutes. A beekeeper was called in and the swarm was exterminated.
On May 31, 2010 the Padres scored a season high and broke a Petco Park record for runs scored in a whole game with 18 runs to defeat the New York Mets on a final score of 18 to 6. Jerry Hairston hit a 2nd inning Grand Slam to start the offence for the Padres. The winning pitcher was Kevin Correia, who had not won a game since April.
On June 14, 2010, during a Toronto Blue Jays
vs. San Diego Padres
game, there was a magnitude-5.7 earthquake, which was centered about 85 miles (136.8 km) east of San Diego. Play stopped momentarily in the eighth inning. The Blue Jays went on to win 6-3.
Rain delays led to the suspension of the Padres' game with the Los Angeles Dodgers
on April 8, 2011. The first delay caused the game to start 28 minutes late. Play was then stopped for over 90 minutes in the second inning, and again in the sixth inning for over one hour. The score was tied at 2-2 in the top of the 9th when play was finally suspended at 1:40 a.m. PDT April 9 after a fourth rain delay. The game was finished later on April 9, with the Dodgers winning in 11 innings, 4-2.
Season 11 auditions for the juggernaut reality-television program American Idol
were held at Petco Park on Friday, July 8, 2011.
In 2011, Food Network
filmed a "Chairman's Challenge" at Petco Park that is to air as part of Season 4, episode 2 of The Next Iron Chef
.
Petco Park can be seen and can even be entered in the video game Midnight Club 3 in the city of San Diego.
Soon after this, PETA
attempted to purchase a brick to protest Petco's treatment of animals (PETA and Petco have a long-standing dispute over this matter), but the first two attempts were denied. Undeterred, PETA succeeded on its third attempt by purchasing a brick which read "Break Open Your Cold Ones Toast The Padres Enjoy This Champion Organization." When one reads the first letter of each word, it forms an acrostic
which reads "BOYCOTT PETCO." The Padres decided to leave the brick there, saying not enough people walking by would notice the secret meaning.
2010, Petco Park was the venue for the TV.com
NOW Awards.
Petco Park differentiates itself from many other Major League ballparks built in the same era by eschewing "retro"-style red brick and green seats. The stadium is clad in Indian sandstone
and stucco
; its exposed steel
is painted white and the 42,445 fixed seats are dark blue. The design is meant to evoke the sandy color of San Diego cliffs and beaches, the blue of the ocean
, and the white sails
of boats on the nearby bay
.
Architects HOK Sport and Antoine Predock
's design pulled restaurant
s, administrative offices and other amenities away from the seating bowl itself into other buildings surrounding the bowl. As a result, the ballpark's concourses are open not only to the playing field but also to the surrounding city. Unlike many outdoor ballparks, in which the batter faces northeast, at Petco the batter faces due north, and fans in the grandstands are treated to a view of San Diego Bay
and the San Diego skyline beyond the left field seats, as well as a view of Balboa Park
, which contains the San Diego Zoo
, beyond center field. The San Diego Union-Tribune honored the ballpark in 2006 with an Orchid award for its design.
The official address of Petco Park is 19 Tony Gwynn
Way, in honor of the eight-time National League
batting champion who wore that uniform number during his entire major league career with the Padres. A 10 feet (3 m) statue of Gwynn was unveiled on the stadium grounds on July 21, 2007.
The "Park at the Park", a grassy berm sloping above the outfield
fence, is open during game time, allowing fans to sit and watch games for a small price of $5. When no games are being played, the Park at the Park serves as a free local park for area residents. An unusual feature that Petco Park has is the home team bullpen is located behind the left-center field wall while the bullpen for the visiting is in foul territory on the first base side.
A 30-by-53-foot (9 m × 16 m) LED
video board from Daktronics
, dubbed FriarVision, offers high-resolution replays
and graphics, even in direct sunlight. Atop FriarVision in the left-field stands is a 34-by-80-foot (10 m × 24 m) Matrix scoreboard
displaying animation
and cheer graphics, lineups, stats, and game information. Along the upper concourses are LED fascia video boards showing animation and graphics. The one along the first-base side is 3 by 236 feet (1 m × 72 m) while the third-base side is 3 by 252 feet (1 m × 77 m).
The Western Metal Supply Co. building, a hundred-year old brick structure that had been scheduled for demolition to make way for Petco Park, was saved and incorporated into the design of the ballpark. The building was renovated
and contains the team store, private suites, a restaurant and rooftop seating. The southeast corner of the building serves as the left field foul pole, and is protected by a strip of bright yellow angle iron.
Fans in concession stands, in bars, restaurants or wandering the stands can watch the action on 244 high-definition
TV monitors and an additional 500 standard-definition
TVs. More than 500 computer-controlled speakers throughout the park deliver the sound as a "distributed signal," eliminating the audio delay from a central bank of speakers, such as the system at Qualcomm Stadium. Four stationary cameras, one roving camera and use of six Cox
-TV cameras provide videos for the park's screens.
Petco Park has been described as being an "extreme pitcher's park". During the 2005-06 offseason, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson
adjusted the dimensions in right-center field in an attempt to make it more hitter friendly. At the end of the 2008 season, Petco Park ranked 29th in hits and 30th out of 30 in home runs per Major League ballpark.
Every time the Padres hit a home run, a foghorn is sounded and fireworks are shot off in center field. Beginning with the 2011 season, four torches were added to the center field wall that light up when the Padres hit a home run. The foghorn is a recording of the horn of the Navy's , a nuclear aircraft carrier that is ported in San Diego. However, the will officially be ported in Bremerton, WA, beginning Jan 10, 2012 to undergo repairs scheduled to take approximately 12 months.
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
in downtown San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
as the home park of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The stadium is named after the animal and pet supplies retailer Petco
PETCO
PETCO is a chain of retail stores that offers pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in Delaware, it is headquartered in San Diego, California...
, which is based in San Diego and paid for the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
.
The ballpark is located between 7th and 10th Avenues, south of J Street. The southern side of the stadium is bounded by San Diego Trolley
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ...
light rail tracks along the north side of Harbor Drive (which serve the adjacent San Diego Convention Center). The portion of K Street between 7th and 10th is now closed to automobiles and serves as a pedestrian promenade along the back of the left and center field outfield seating (and also provides access to the "Park at the Park" behind center field). Two of the stadium's outfield entrance areas are located at K Street's intersections with 7th and 10th Avenues. The main entrance, behind home plate, is at the south end of Park Boulevard (at Imperial) and faces the San Diego Trolley 12th & Imperial Transit Center
12th & Imperial Transit Center (MTS Transit Center)
12th & Imperial Transit Center is a station of the Blue and Orange lines on the San Diego Trolley. It is located in the East Village neighborhood of the city and serves the high density residential developments that surround the stop and has historically been used as a major transfer point between...
.
Construction
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive...
, and its main entrance behind home plate is located two blocks from the downtown terminal of the San Diego Trolley
San Diego Trolley
The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system operating in the metropolitan area of San Diego. The operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System ...
light rail system.
The ballpark was originally scheduled to open for the 2002 season
2002 Major League Baseball season
The Major League Baseball season finished with the Anaheim Angels defeating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.-Major league baseball final standings:...
; however, construction was temporarily suspended for legal and political reasons. One portion of this was a court decision which nullified a ballot proposition which had already been passed (approving the city's portion of the stadium financing package), and required that the proposition be put to the voters a second time. Another delay resulted from the Western Metal Supply Co. building being declared a historic landmark, which prevented its demolition. After court hearings, it was determined that its landmark status only applies to the exterior facade, as it was supported entirely by panoramic photographs of the early San Diego skyline, and the building was renovated and included in the stadium design in an example of adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
.
The resulting delays required the Padres to play the 2002 and 2003
2003 Major League Baseball season
*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S...
seasons at Qualcomm Stadium.
Events and milestones
The first baseball game ever played at Petco Park, on March 11, 2004, was the first game of a four-team NCAA invitational tournament hosted by San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. The San Diego State Aztecs
SDSU Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the collegiate athletics and sports teams for San Diego State University .San Diego State has organized programs for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, gymnastics, rowing , softball, tennis, track, swimming, diving, women's volleyball, and water polo.The...
baseball team, of which retired Padres player Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
was the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
, defeated Houston
Houston Cougars baseball
The Houston Cougars baseball team is the college baseball team of the University of Houston.Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team is a member of the Conference USA as a Division I team. They play their home games at Cougar Field. In addition to numerous NCAA...
. It was the largest attendance for a game in college baseball history.
On April 8, 2004, The San Diego Padres played their first regular season game and defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in 10 innings.
April 15, 2004 Mark Loretta hit the first Padre home run off of Hideo Nomo
Hideo Nomo
is a former right-handed pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball from Japan. He achieved early success in Japan, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to...
of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was caught by Mike Hill, a bartender at the Kansas City Barbecue.
The stadium's first concert came on November 11, 2005, when it hosted The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
.
On March 18 and 20, 2006, the ballpark hosted the semi-finals and finals of the first
2006 World Baseball Classic
---------Pool B:-------------Pool C:-------------Pool D:-------------Pool 1:-----------------Pool 2:-------------Finals:-Semifinals:-Final:-Final standings:...
World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...
. It also hosted second-round games of the 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
.
On April 4, 2006, Petco Park had its first rainout, postponing an evening game against the San Francisco Giants.
In February 2007, Petco Park became the new host of the USA Sevens
USA Sevens
The USA Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in the United States. A part of the IRB Sevens World Series, it currently takes place on Saturday and Sunday during the second weekend of February...
, a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
event within the IRB Sevens World Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
. Previous editions of the USA Sevens had been held at The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is a multiple-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles. Its title sponsor is hardware retailer The Home Depot. The $150 million complex was...
in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
suburb of Carson
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
.
On August 4, 2007, Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
hit his 755th home run to tie Hank Aaron's record.
On November 4, 2008, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
performed her Sticky and Sweet Tour at Petco Park. This marked the first time in 23 years that Madonna brought a tour to San Diego since The Virgin Tour
The Virgin Tour
The Virgin Tour is the debut concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her first two studio albums, Madonna and Like a Virgin . Although, initially planned for an international audience, the tour was restricted within United States and Canada only. Warner Bros. decided...
in 1985. 35,743 fans were present.
On July 2, 2009, the MLB experienced its first game to be delayed/halted by a swarm of bees at Petco Park in a game between the Padres and the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
. A small swarm of honeybees took up residence around a chair in left field, causing the game to be delayed by fifty-two minutes. A beekeeper was called in and the swarm was exterminated.
On May 31, 2010 the Padres scored a season high and broke a Petco Park record for runs scored in a whole game with 18 runs to defeat the New York Mets on a final score of 18 to 6. Jerry Hairston hit a 2nd inning Grand Slam to start the offence for the Padres. The winning pitcher was Kevin Correia, who had not won a game since April.
On June 14, 2010, during a Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
vs. San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
game, there was a magnitude-5.7 earthquake, which was centered about 85 miles (136.8 km) east of San Diego. Play stopped momentarily in the eighth inning. The Blue Jays went on to win 6-3.
Rain delays led to the suspension of the Padres' game with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
on April 8, 2011. The first delay caused the game to start 28 minutes late. Play was then stopped for over 90 minutes in the second inning, and again in the sixth inning for over one hour. The score was tied at 2-2 in the top of the 9th when play was finally suspended at 1:40 a.m. PDT April 9 after a fourth rain delay. The game was finished later on April 9, with the Dodgers winning in 11 innings, 4-2.
Season 11 auditions for the juggernaut reality-television program American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
were held at Petco Park on Friday, July 8, 2011.
In 2011, Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
filmed a "Chairman's Challenge" at Petco Park that is to air as part of Season 4, episode 2 of The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
.
Media
PETA protest
During the construction of the stadium, the Padres offered fans the chance to purchase bricks outside of the concourse and to dedicate them.Soon after this, PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
attempted to purchase a brick to protest Petco's treatment of animals (PETA and Petco have a long-standing dispute over this matter), but the first two attempts were denied. Undeterred, PETA succeeded on its third attempt by purchasing a brick which read "Break Open Your Cold Ones Toast The Padres Enjoy This Champion Organization." When one reads the first letter of each word, it forms an acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
which reads "BOYCOTT PETCO." The Padres decided to leave the brick there, saying not enough people walking by would notice the secret meaning.
Comic-Con International
During Comic-Con InternationalComic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
2010, Petco Park was the venue for the TV.com
TV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
NOW Awards.
Features and design
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
; its exposed steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
is painted white and the 42,445 fixed seats are dark blue. The design is meant to evoke the sandy color of San Diego cliffs and beaches, the blue of the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, and the white sails
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
of boats on the nearby bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
.
Architects HOK Sport and Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...
's design pulled restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, administrative offices and other amenities away from the seating bowl itself into other buildings surrounding the bowl. As a result, the ballpark's concourses are open not only to the playing field but also to the surrounding city. Unlike many outdoor ballparks, in which the batter faces northeast, at Petco the batter faces due north, and fans in the grandstands are treated to a view of San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
and the San Diego skyline beyond the left field seats, as well as a view of Balboa Park
Balboa Park (San Diego)
Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...
, which contains the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
, beyond center field. The San Diego Union-Tribune honored the ballpark in 2006 with an Orchid award for its design.
The official address of Petco Park is 19 Tony Gwynn
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
Way, in honor of the eight-time National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
batting champion who wore that uniform number during his entire major league career with the Padres. A 10 feet (3 m) statue of Gwynn was unveiled on the stadium grounds on July 21, 2007.
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
fence, is open during game time, allowing fans to sit and watch games for a small price of $5. When no games are being played, the Park at the Park serves as a free local park for area residents. An unusual feature that Petco Park has is the home team bullpen is located behind the left-center field wall while the bullpen for the visiting is in foul territory on the first base side.
A 30-by-53-foot (9 m × 16 m) LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
video board from Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
, dubbed FriarVision, offers high-resolution replays
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
and graphics, even in direct sunlight. Atop FriarVision in the left-field stands is a 34-by-80-foot (10 m × 24 m) Matrix scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
displaying animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
and cheer graphics, lineups, stats, and game information. Along the upper concourses are LED fascia video boards showing animation and graphics. The one along the first-base side is 3 by 236 feet (1 m × 72 m) while the third-base side is 3 by 252 feet (1 m × 77 m).
Renovation
Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...
and contains the team store, private suites, a restaurant and rooftop seating. The southeast corner of the building serves as the left field foul pole, and is protected by a strip of bright yellow angle iron.
Fans in concession stands, in bars, restaurants or wandering the stands can watch the action on 244 high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
TV monitors and an additional 500 standard-definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
TVs. More than 500 computer-controlled speakers throughout the park deliver the sound as a "distributed signal," eliminating the audio delay from a central bank of speakers, such as the system at Qualcomm Stadium. Four stationary cameras, one roving camera and use of six Cox
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
-TV cameras provide videos for the park's screens.
Petco Park has been described as being an "extreme pitcher's park". During the 2005-06 offseason, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson
Sandy Alderson
Richard Lynn "Sandy" Alderson is the general manager of the New York Mets. He previously served as an executive with the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and the commissioner's office of Major League Baseball....
adjusted the dimensions in right-center field in an attempt to make it more hitter friendly. At the end of the 2008 season, Petco Park ranked 29th in hits and 30th out of 30 in home runs per Major League ballpark.
Every time the Padres hit a home run, a foghorn is sounded and fireworks are shot off in center field. Beginning with the 2011 season, four torches were added to the center field wall that light up when the Padres hit a home run. The foghorn is a recording of the horn of the Navy's , a nuclear aircraft carrier that is ported in San Diego. However, the will officially be ported in Bremerton, WA, beginning Jan 10, 2012 to undergo repairs scheduled to take approximately 12 months.